Robert MacGregor was a British

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, who, during the 1920s, concerned over unnecessary losses of

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

colliers, developed the first steel hatch cover. The design was simple and consisted of five articulated leaves that stowed neatly at the end of each hatch. Patented in 1929, the steel hatch improved ship and cargo safety and had a lasting impact on cargo care. In 1937, to promote and sell his steel hatch covers, Robert MacGregor and his brother Joseph formed MacGregor & Company in

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around ...

on the north-east coast of England.

References

External links

MacGREGOR Group website
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacGregor, Robert British marine engineers People from Whitley Bay 1873 births 1956 deaths Engineers from Tyne and Wear